Skype

Welcome to the latest edition of Ignite. How has your last fortnight been?

Once again, mine has been blur. The things that stand out for me over the past two weeks have been two great workshops that I have attended and some personal records on my cycle training for the MacMillan London – Paris cycle ride that I am participating in from July 1st to July 5th this year.

The specific things that stood out for me about the workshops were not just the content, which in both cases was extremely useful. The power of these events, beyond the immediate learning, was the opportunity to meet and network with new people, to gain insights and knowledge that were complimentary to the core learning & also the self-learning and ideas that are generated in this environment.

What do you find to be the most important aspects of workshops/seminars?

Keeping score…

Today is May 1st, the first third of the year has already passed. Time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it.

So, the question is … where are your against the goals you’ve set out for 2015?

Landmarks, such as the first third of the year having passed are excellent times to take stock of your goals for the year; it’s a time to assess where you’re heading, what progress you have (or haven’t) made and to evaluate your goals that you set. Have you set the right ones? Are they taking you where you want to go? If not, what might you change to take you in the right direction?

If you have not make the progress on your goals that you wanted, review your goals, review your plan, do some tweaks and go again – if, of course, this goal is really important to you.
Remember, it took Edison 1000s of attempts to design the incandescent light bulb, so imagine where we would be if he had given up after his first failure!

Analyse, review, plan and then act!

Be wary of doing the same old thing if the same old thing doesn’t work; “do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got”. Look at why your first attempt wasn’t successful, review your strategy, plan how to do it better and try again.

Tools you can use: Skype

In the last edition of Ignite, I committed to regularly sharing with you some useful software tools that I have used.

Today, I will talk about Skype. Skype is a tool I use frequently in my business, it allows me to work with my clients and collaboration partners around the world without having to travel. With the ability to use video, it provides a rich communication medium.

Skype is a software platform that is used by millions of Individuals and business users. It offers free video and voice calls, instant messages, and file sharing & low cost calls to landline and mobiles.

“Skype is for doing things together, whenever you’re apart”. With Skype’s text, voice and video make it easy to share information and experiences with the others wherever they are.
Skype applications and clients are available for smart phones, tablets, computers, smart TVs and even games consoles.

And, as of this week Skype have now introduced a service where you can use Skype straight from an internet browser, from within Skype.com, without having to download the relevant client.

What Services Skype Offer?
Skype-to-Skype Calls
Free Video Calls
Call Landlines and Mobiles- You can call to Landline and Mobiles as well, charges apply
Conference Calls
Skype To Go Number – Buy Skype Credit or a Subscription to activate your number. You can obtain a number that’s local to your area
Instant Messaging
Send files
Screen Sharing

Benefits of Skype
Cut the cost of your business calls
Reduce your business travel costs
Stay in touch with colleagues – Making sure everyone involved in a project is kept in the loop means a business can run more efficiently – saving both time and money.
Stay in touch with customers

Limitations
You need to have a functioning webcam/camera for video calls
You need to have access to Ethernet, wireless or a good data connection
Video streaming requires a large amount of internet bandwidth (the capacity of the internet connection), so if your bandwidth is low, your video stream might be choppy or slow.
It is possible to record Skype calls, there are a number of applications that allow you to record your calls available for Windows and Apple computers. There is a comprehensive list available on the Skype website here

What’s New?

If you live in Warwick or nearby and have an interest in and applications of NLP, I have formed a Meet Up group. This group is called Everyday Excellence. It is not for everyone but if you’d like to know more visit the information page here